Friends, family and community members have raised over $58,000 for a Carpinteria family man who suffered severe burns during a July 9 garage fire.
Justin Rosenberger suffered second and third degree burns on his back and 22% of his body when a garage mishap caused an explosion.
Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Department officials said a metal cutting wheel set off the blaze.
Investigators said small pieces of burning metal ignited a container of smokeless gunpowder in the garage.
With Mr. Rosenberger coming off his third surgery on July 20, community members organized a crowdfunding campaign to offset his medical costs and a meal train to support Mr. Rosenberger’s wife Jessica and daughter Kabrie.
Mr. Rosenberger founded Carpinteria Pest Control Co. according to his LinkedIn page.
According to an update on GoFundMe, doctors at the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills are expected to allow Mr. Rosenberger to return home this week. He has undergone three surgeries since he suffered his burns.
Mr. Rosenberger went in for his first surgery on July 13. The five-hour surgery was for skin grafts. He underwent his second surgery on July 16.
During his time at the Grossman Burn Center, staff only allowed one family member to visit Mr. Grossman per day.
“While an extremely painful process — Justin is in good spirits and is ready to be coming home. It is looking like he might be able to come home sometime next week, if all things continue as they are,” fundraiser organizer Carly Bass said in a statement,
“Justin will still need continued care at home to aid in this full recovery. We have not been given a timeframe for the at-home recovery process, but we all know how strong and capable Justin is,” Ms. Bass said.
Ms. Bass added the community can support Kabrie by signing up to drop off an activity kit at https://docs.google.com/document/d/10cmdtWr2Y05UwNzml2tICqXKrmsBFww5M2fVMjPYtDw/edit.
“With summer here and with everything going on, it would be amazing to just sprinkle Kabrie with a little love …. You can sign up and drop off a fun kit or activity to bring Kabrie some smiles, fun and entertainment,” Ms. Bass said.
“Justin, you are in our hearts! We send prayers for healing! The Silk Family,” Jan and Kevin Silk wrote in a note on GoFundMe.
“We stand beside you with love and prayers. Ready to help with anything … anytime,” Felicia and Dan Sutherland added.
To donate visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-justin-jessica-amp-kabrie-rosenberger. To sign up to deliver a meal visit https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9le3lo.
email: pgonzalez@newspress.com
